James Bennett (1944 – 31 December 2014) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

senior team. Born in

Bennettsbridge Bennettsbridge () is a village in County Kilkenny in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the River Nore south of Kilkenny city, in the centre of the county. Bennettsbridge is a census town, and has population of 745 as of the 2016 ...

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, Bennett first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-one when he first linked up with the Kilkenny senior team. He made his senior debut during the 1965 championship. Bennett subsequently became a regular member of the starting fifteen and won one All-Ireland medal, one

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

medal and one

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. As a member of the

inter-provincial team on a number of occasions Bennett won one

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medal. At club level he was a two-time championship medallist with

. He later played with St Monica's in Dublin. His son, Greg Bennett, played hurling with

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. Throughout his career Bennett made 5 championship appearances. He retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1968 championship.

Playing career

Club

Bennett lined out with Bennettsbridge in his first championship decider in 1965, however,

Mooncoin Mooncoin () is a census town in County Kilkenny, in Ireland. The population was 1,175 in 2016. Historically part of the Gaelic kingdom of Osraige, today it is in the far south of the county of Kilkenny, located in the valley of the River Suir. I ...

triumphed on that occasion. In spite of this both sides renewed their rivalry in the 1966 decider. A double scores 4–8 to 2–4 victory avenged the previous year's defeat and gave Bennett a first championship medal. Bennettsbridge continued to dominate club hurling once again in 1967. A 3–10 to 1–4 defeat of

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of ...

earned a second championship medal for Bennett.

Inter-county

Bennett made his senior championship debut on 27 June 1965 in a 1–20 to 3–8 Leinster semi-final defeat of Dublin. After surrendering their provincial crown in 1965, Kilkenny bounced back the following year by reaching the final of the

. An aggregate 10–15 to 2–15 defeat of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

gave Bennett a league medal. He was later confined to the substitutes' bench as Kilkenny went on to claim the

title before losing the All-Ireland final to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. There was some consolation before the end of the year, with Bennett winning an

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

medal following a 4–7 to 1–7 victory over

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. Bennett was added to the starting fifteen in 1967 and collected a Leinster medal on the field of play as Kilkenny retained their provincial crown following a 4–10 to 1–12 defeat of Wexford after a scare in the opening half. On 3 September 1967 Kilkenny faced

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

in the All-Ireland decider. Tipperary looked like continuing their hoodoo over their near rivals as they took a 2–6 to 1–3 lead at half-time. Goalkeeper

Ollie Walsh Patrick Oliver Walsh (13 July 1937 – 9 March 1996) was an Irish hurler and hurling manager. His career included All-Ireland Championship victories as a player and later as a manager with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. After beginning ...

was the hero for Kilkenny as he made a series of spectacular saves, however, the team lost Eddie Keher and Tom Walsh to injury in the second half. In spite of this, Kilkenny laid to rest a bogey that Tipperary had over the team since 1922, and a 3–8 to 2–7 victory gave Bennett an All-Ireland medal. He finished off the year by claiming a second successive Oireachtas medal following a 4–4 to 1–8 defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. As captain of the team in 1968, Bennett's side exited the championship at the hands of Wexford in the Leinster decider.

Inter-provincial

In 1967 Bennett was at full-forward on the Leinster inter-provincial team. He won a

medal that year following Leinster's 2–14 to 3–5 defeat of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

Honours

Player

;Bennettsbridge *

Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship The Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the St Canice's Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny County Board of ...

(2): 1966, 1967 ;Kilkenny *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

(1):

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...

(2):

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

(sub),

(1): 1965–66 *

Oireachtas Tournament The Oireachtas Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1939 and 1999 for the top inter-county teams in Ireland. The series of games were usually played in the autumn months after the completion ...

(2): 1966, 1967 ;Leinster *

(1): 1967

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jim 1944 births 2014 deaths Bennettsbridge hurlers St Monica's hurlers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners